The National Geographic Magazine
Fires Were Lighted Every Night To Dry Out the Travelers' Clothing
Here Perry Lowrey, the surveyor, right, has his shoes suspended directly over the blaze. Movie cameraman
Ernest Knee, radioman Enrique G6mez, of the Venezuelan Ministry of Communications, and Alejandro Laime,
the guide, look on, waiting for the coffee to boil.
Camp! I dropped my pack, hunted out
my damp and dingy towel, and disappeared
down to the Churun to wash off the perspira
tion and bits of bark, moss, and earth. This
time the icy water was too much. I went
back to camp and hung my hammock, crawled
into the damp blankets, and wrestled with the
chill that had enveloped me. Later, though,
a huge aluminum tin of thick steaming soup
and a cup of tea worked miracles.
Getting out the rest of the way was easy.
The Churun had risen very high during the
last few rainy days and the dugouts rode
easily. It was downstream all the way now,
through the Churun in the canyon and out
the Rio Carrao to where the new airstrip was.
The sun came out, and we gazed with awe at
the many waterfalls coming off the mesas.
The Indians made a hut for us in what we
knew would be our last camp on this venture.
They had brought fleas over from their camp,
but we endured them, knowing it would be
for the last night. The wind howled and the
rain blew through the shelter, and we were
soaking wet before we ever went to sleep.
As soon as the red and cream plane was
spotted in the air the next morning, we carried
everything up to the strip. There were last
minute pictures to snap and regretful leave
takings of the loyal Indians and of our good
friend, Alejandro Laime, who was going back
to Uruyen with them.
There were affectionate farewells to Juanita,
the Indian woman who had so competently
done her work on the trip. In my pocket I
had a long list of things to buy in Ciudad
Bolivar for the Indians. I would send these
back to them by pilot Sam Fales.
Perry, after hours of figuring angles, zenith
distances, talus slopes, and what not, came up
with 2,648 feet for the main drop of Angel
Falls. Counting in the lower falls, the vertical
drop is a total of 3,212 feet. No doubt now
of its being the world's highest.
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